Hermetic-sealing apparatus.



J. MERRITT.

HERMETIC SEALING APPARTUS.

APPLICATION FILED MAR-5, 1906. 1 ,026,404. Patented May 14, 1912.

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JOSEPH MERRITT, 0F HARTFORD, CONNECTICUT, ASSIGNOR, BY MESNE ASSIGNMENTS, OF ONE-HALF T0 BEECH-NUT lPACKING COMPANY, 0F CANAJ'OHARIE, NEW YORK, ACORPORATION AOF NEW YORK, AND ONE-FOURTH T0 WILLIAM A. LORENZ AND ONE-FOURTH-TO-WILLIAM H. HONISS, BOTH 0F HARTFORD, CONNECTICUT.

HERMETIC-SEALING APPARATUS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 14, 1912.

Application filed 'March 5, 1906. Serial No. 304,399.

To all whom t may concern.'

v Be it known t-hat I, JosEPH MERRITT, a. citizen of the United States, and resident of Hartford, in the county of Hartford and State of Connecticut, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Hermetic- Sealing Apparatus, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact specification..`

This invention relates to apparatus for hermet'ically sealing jars of the class in which a more or less complete vacuum is formed Within the jar and 'the cap or cover is yretained in place by the outside atmospheric pressure,.which presses the cap down upon an elastic gasket inserted between the cap and the jar.

This invention is herein shown in connection with apparatus in which, after a suitable vacuum is obtained within and around the jars, the jar caps are pressed firmly down before and during the readmission of the atmospheric pressure to the jars, thus finally and securely sealing the closures without leaving any chance for the readmitted air to enter the closure joints, and thus destroy or diminish the vacuum in the jars. vIn sealin these jars on a commercial scale,-it is desirable Ato operate simultaneously upon a number of jars. In thus operating upon a group of jars, the difficulty is encountered that the tops of the caps are of different heights from the base or tray on which the jars rest, caused by variations incident to the commercial manufacture of 'the jar, thegasket and the cap. Therefore, if the grou of caps were to be pressed down by a sing e' level platform, thel pressure would' be distributed unevenly on the jars, because iof their varying heights. The taller jars, and sometimes only one orA two of them, wouldl receive all of the pressure, leaving theishorter jars either Without pressure, or wit-han amount of pressure insufficient to securely close the joint against the readmission; of air. It ismoreover desirable to place the group of jarsI compactly together within a sealing chamber having the smallest posible cubical contents, so as to lessen the amountofair to be exhausted, and ,conse-4 quently lessen the time and expensevof ob-` taining a proper vacuum. -For strength, compactness and moderate cost, it is desirable and customary, to employ forthese sealing' chambers a `horizontal cylindrical shell, in which the jars are placed vertically. In order to enable a cylinder of small diameter to be employed, it is desirable to use for imparting the sealing pressure, operatingmeans disposed and moving lengthwise of the cylinder, or at least at an angle with the vertical position of the jars.

The objects of the present invention are to provide means for translating the direction of movement of the operating bar or bars, and for dividing and distributing the said pressure with substantial equality upon a plurality of the jars, regardless of their varying height.

In the present embodiment of this invention the operating bar from the motor or prime mover is disposed and moves longitudinal] of the sealing chamber, its direction ofy movement being translated and distributed to the respective pressers by means of bell-cranked levers and springs intercalated betweenthe prime mover and the pressers. In the commercial sealing of these jars, in which they are handled in great numbers and with great haste, the caps or covers C are liable to become tilted, du'e to inequalities or irregularities in the joint,

either during thel capping operation, or when placing them in the sealing retort, or during the pressing down operation itself. Therefore, it is desirable, in connection with the direction translating and pressure equalizing devices of the present invention to provide for leveling the caps which may thus be, or become tilted, and for maintaining them in a level position during the pressing down operation. To this end separately mounted and guided jar pressers are employed in connection with the equalizing sprin s and direction translating devices, thus ividing these important functions and providing for eachl function its suitable dev1ce.

Figure' l of the drawings is a side view, insection on the line 1-2 of Fig. 3, of a jar sealing apparatus with the present in vention incorporated therein and showing the parts in position for exhaustion. Fig. 2 is a similar view and shows the parts in the position occupied by them`after the caps have been pushed down at the close of the exhausting operation. Fig. 3 is an end view of Fig. 1 in section on the line 3-3. y

The jar chamber 11 is preferably of a ci lindrical form inclosed by the shell 12. A door 15 adapted to be closed hermetically gives access to the interior of the chamber. Brackets 14 secured to or resting upon the shell 12 sust-ain the base 13 upon which rests the jar tray 17 which receives and supports a the exhausting and sealing operations. The

set of jars consists in the lpresent instance of three rows of' ninejars each, making 27 jarsin all. The number is, however, immaterial, as the apparatus may be made to operate on any convenient number of jars at once. Connection with suitable exhausting apparatus is made through vthe pipe 21 and is controlled by the cock 22. A cock 23 is also provided by which communication may be had with the outside air.

Above the base 13 and supported thereon by the uprights 26 is the presser guide plate 25, through which the stems 32 of the jar pressers-31-extend. The pressers 31' arel so disposed that each one overlies` a jar J when the tray 17 is properly located lon vthe base 13. Each presser stem 32 is loosely pivoted at 33 to a crank lever 34 ulcrumed at 35 in lugs 36 appurtenant to the plate 25. The upper end of each lever 34 is :forked (Fig. to straddle the sliding collar 39 with which it is connected by pins 40 which fit into a groove in the collar. The. collars 39 i the plate 25.

are mounted to slide on the operating bar 45 which is supported for endwise movement in brackets 46 (Fig. 1) secured to the top of The rear end of the bar 45 passes through a stuffingbox 47 to the exterior of the jar chamber where it is connected to a motor or other suitable source of power yand operates as a prime mover for the entire apparatus. The operating bar 45 also carries a series of fixed collars or abutments 41 secured to the bar at intervals along its length adjacent to and corresponding number with the sliding collars 39. Between each fixed collar 41 and the vsliding collar 39 next it. toward the'rear, is a spring 42, which is under some tension and therefore crowds its sliding collar 39 against the fixed collar 41 at its rear. When it is desirable to operate a plurality of' rows of pressers with the same prime mover, as

`herein shown, additional sliding bars 50 also equipped with springs and collars extend over the two outer rows of jars yand are moved bythe operating bar 45 by means of the two yokes 48 and 49 which are secured to the bars at either end or at convenientset of jars J in fixed position during.

intervals. The yoke 43is utilized in the present'instance to sustain the thrust of the spring 42 at the front end of the bar 45.

The operation of the apparatus is as fol- -lows 1-The' tray 17 with its complement of jars J ready for sealing is placed within the jar chamber 11 in such position that the jar caps C are all beneath their respective pressers. The door 15 is now closed, the cock 23 closed, and the cock 22 opened, all the parts being now in the position shown in Fig. 1. This enables the jar chamber 11- to be exhausted until the desired degree of vacuum has been reached, the caps C being free to lift sufficientlyl to permit the air t-o also pass out from the interior of the jars. The operating rod 45 is now moved endwise by the motor mechanism tothe position shown in Fig. 2. This swings -the crank levers 34 on their pivots 35 and moves all the pressers 31 downward until they encounter their respective caps C. Each cap will J then be forced by its presser down upon its jar as the fixed collars 41 will continue to crowd the springs 42 against the slidingl collars 39 until the bar 45 completes its movement. The springs serve as equalizing members, 'to distribute the pressure with approximate equality upon all of the caps. By suitably proportioning the springs, and

yadjusting the stroke so as to bear with sutlicient pressure upon the lowest caps, the differences in pressure, due to the differences in amount of compression of the springs, need not be considered. The cock 22 may now be closed and the cock 23 opened thereby readmitting the air to the jar chamber 11 so as torestablish atmospheric pressure therein. No air can enter the closure joints of the jars during this operation as thecaps are all held down firmly by the pressers.` The latter may now be released by sliding the operating bar forward and the caps will be retained in place by the 'atmospheric pressure.

ln the drawings the jars are shown to be of different heights. Those pressers which stand on 'the high jars will be the first to be arrested in their downward movement, the next highest stopping next, and sol on until all the caps are pressed down into place.

It is preferable to arrange the springsV and collars so that the springs are compressed to some extent even when the pressers are in their upper position. By properly regulating this tension each presser will exert the desired minimum pressure upon its cap as soon as its movement is arrestedby the cap without any movement being lost in the iniin order to illustrate this feature.

tinued movement of the prime moveruntil its pressure is distributed and substantially equalized upon all the jar caps, as is illustrated in Fig. 2 ofthe drawings, in which the jars are shown to be of varying heights In that the diiierent jars is comparatively slight,

- lacking of perfect equalization only to the extent due to the difference in tension of the different springs, due to 'their differing amount of compression, which is or may be made very slight, depending upon the initial compression of the spring, which need not be great. The amplitude of movement of the prime mover or `operating bar 45, and the power applied to it being made sufficient for the purpose, the pressure upon the lowest jar may be made suilicient for the intended purpose; and the slight excess of pressure which may be put upon the other jars, due to the slightly varying movements of compression of the respective springs, does no harm,fso that the springs are herein properly designated equalizing springs y, since they substantially equalize the pressure distributed from the operating bar 45 to the respective pressers. f

I claim as my invention 1 1. In jar sealing apparatus, a plurality -of individual jar pressers, an operating member, devices for translating the direction of'pressure from the operating member to the jar pressers, and springs for distributing and substantially equalizing the pressure transmitted to the said individual pressers.

2. In ar sealing apparatus,'a plurality of individual jar pressers, an operating member 'corpbmon to the plurality of pressers, a direction translating device interposed between the said operating member and each ofv its individual pressers, and springs for f'distributing and substantially equalizing the pressure transmitted to the'said pressers.

3. In jar sealing apparatus, a plurality of individual jar pressers, means for guiding the movement of the pressers, an operating member movable at an angle with the movement of the pressers, direction translating devices interposed between the operating member and the individual pressers, and an equalizing spring interposed between each presser and its operating member, for

i distributing and substantially equalizing the pressure transmitted to the pressers.

4'. In jarA sealing apparatus, the combination of a jar chamber, a series of independently movable jar pressers, means for guidmg the movement of the pressers, an operating member for the said series of pressers, movable in a direction at an angle with the movement of the pressers, direction translatmg devices interposed between the said operating member and its individual pressers, and equalizing springs between the operating member and the respective pressers .for distributing and substantially equalizing the pressure transmitted to the said pressers.

5. In jar sealing apparatus, the combination of a jar chamber, a setof independently movable individual jar-pressers, means for guiding the pressers, an operating bar, a set of equalizing springs carried on the bar, and connecting means for transmitting the substantially equalized movement of the springs to the pressers.

6. In jar sealing apparatus, the combination of a jar chamber, a set of independently-movable individual jar pressers, an endwise-movable operating bar, a set of equalizing springs carried on the bar, a series of abutments secured to the bar and separating the springs, and a set of levers connecting the springs and the pressers, whereby the endwise movement of the bar is transmitted through the springs to the pressers. s

7. In a jar sealing apparatus, the combination of a jar chamber, a presser guide plate secured therein, a set of independen tly-movable individual jar pressers carried by the plate, an endwise-movable operating bar, a set of springs carried on the bar, a set of abutments secured to the bar and separating the springs, and a set of levers pivoted on the gulde plate and connecting t-he springs and the pressers, whereby the endwise movement of the bar is transmitted through the springs to the pressers.

8. In jar sealing apparatus, the combination of a jar chamber, a plurality of independently movable individual jar pressers, means for guiding the movement of each presser, an operating bar Aand connecting means between the said bar and the plurality o'f pressers, including springs for transmitting substantially equalized pressure from the bar to the pressers.

9. Injar sealing apparatus, the combination of a jar chamber, a set of independently movable jar pressers, means for guiding the movement of said pressers, an operatingl bar and connecting means including springs between the bar and the pressers, for dividing and distributing pressure from the bar to the-pressers.

10. In jar sealing apparatus, the combination of a jar chamber, independently movable jar pressers, a plurality of operating bars for the said pressers, and connecting means. including springs between the saidA tributing substantially equa-lized pressure from the said bars to the respeotivepressers.

In Witness whereof I have signed my name to this specification, in the presence of two "subscribing Witnesses7 this 3d day of March, 15

JOSEPH MERRI'IT.V Witnesses:

CAROLINE M. BRECKLE, NELLIE PHOENIX. 

